Little Secret
by Coopereid
Summary: Emily's been keeping a secret from the team since she joined: her daughter. What happens when she finally decides to let the cat out of the bag? Now going to be a series of one-shots based on the storyline as inspiration strikes.
1. Little Secret

Emily Prentiss has always been a private person, separating her home life from her work life as much as she possible could. As soon as she was off the clock, she was a completely different person. She walked up to her apartment, unlocking the door and walking inside. She'd barely put her keys down on the table when a child ran up, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"Mommy!"

Emily smiled, picking her up and kissing her cheek. "Hey, sweetie." She rested her against her hip, walking to the living room. "Did you have fun at school today?"

She nodded her head. "Uh huh. I did math."

Emily wrinkled her nose. "I never really liked math. Are you good at it?"

"Very!"

"Good, you can do my taxes for me," she said, setting her down on the couch.

The little girl shook her head. "No way."

She laughed softly, looking at her babysitter. "How was she?"

"The same as always – had plenty of stories to tell and drawings to show me."

She reached in her drawer, taking out the checkbook. "I'm going to be home for the long weekend with her, so I'll see you Tuesday morning?" she asked, writing it out and ripping it out of the book.

"Absolutely."

Emily held out the check to her. "Elena, say goodbye to Ashley."

The little girl looked up at her from the couch, waving. "Bye!"

She smiled, pulling on her jacket and tucking the check into her pocket before walking out.

"Are you _really_ home the _whole_ weekend, Mommy?"

She sat down beside her, kissing her forehead. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

She gasped. "Can we watch movies? And go shopping? And play dress-up?!"

"_Anything_ you want to do, I'm all yours."

Nobody on the team knew Emily was a mother. A year before she joined the BAU, she'd ended up pregnant, and the father wanted nothing to do with her or the baby. Rather than pull teeth and try to get him involved, she left him out of the picture, and gave birth to a happy, healthy little girl nine and a half months later. Her mother, even though they didn't have a good relationship, took care of Emily and her granddaughter financially, allowing her to keep her job and hire a nanny for when she needed to go out of town. She also kept in touch with them often, getting updates on anything new her granddaughter was up to.

When she started at the BAU, it hurt her to stay away from her daughter, but she didn't want to let everyone on the team know – she felt it was none of their business. She said it herself, she compartmentalizes better than everyone else on the team, and she's able to keep her private life completely private. When she walks out that door in the morning, she's Special Agent Emily Prentiss. When she comes back, whether it was after a long day at work or a case, as soon as her key was in the lock, she was just Mommy. She'd done this for six years now without anyone finding out. Elena had asked on several occasions about meeting her team after she talked about them at the dinner table, but Emily would always change the subject.

* * *

That night, after tucking her in, she read her a story of her choosing. She'd recently grown a habit of grabbing the thickest book she could possibly find, not only so she could be read to, but also so she could stay up as late as she possibly could listening to her. Emily had caught on to her game a while ago, but considering she had limited time with her daughter before another case came up and separated them again, she graciously took the books that were getting heavier, opening them and reading them until Elena dozed off. She'd leave the night light on in her room, turn off her lamp, and leave the door open a crack.

Emily sat up in her bed with her lamp on, re-reading one of her favorite Vonnegut books. Ever since her discussion with Derek a few years back, she found herself addicted to the books all over again. She only looked up from her book when she heard a soft sobbing sound. She set the book down, looking over at her door. There stood Elena, her hand wrapped around her security blanket from infancy, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She jumped out of bed, walking over and picking her up. "What's wrong?"

She sniffed, burying her head in her shoulder. "Bad dream."

She walked back to the bed, setting her down and sitting beside her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She quickly shook her head, curling up beside her. Emily turned off the lamp on her nightstand, laying down beside her and rubbing her back, humming softly until she fell back to sleep. She placed a kiss on the sleeping child's forehead and wrapped an arm around her, running a hand through her hair until she fell asleep herself.

* * *

The next day, she spent most of the morning running around with her at the park and then sitting on the couch, watching Disney movies. Her phone started going off and she sighed, reaching over and checking the caller ID.

"Do you have to work?" Elena asked, looking up at her and pouting.

She shook her head. "It's just one of mommy's co-workers calling. Don't worry, you're stuck with me until Tuesday."

When that answer seemed to satisfy the little girl, Emily answered her phone.

"…Hey, Jayje. I thought you were devoting this weekend to getting everything work-related out of your head and spending time with the little guy."

JJ smiled. "Trust me, I am. It's just past noon and I'm already wiped out. I just hope he goes down for a nap soon so I can."

Emily smiled, thinking to herself. _Oh, I know __**that**__ feeling_. "Did you send Will away?"

"He doesn't get home from work for another few hours so it's just me and Henry."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"It isn't. But listen, I got a call from Hotch-"

She groaned. "JJ, I'm off until Tuesday, I don't care what it is, how bad it is, or where it is-"

"It's not a case, but way to put it in the books to _never_ bother you when you request a few days off."

She smiled slightly. "Then if it's not a case, I'm all ears. What's up?"

"Well, Hotch told me that Rossi's willing to have the team over for a barbecue tonight. Just imagine it, the guys cooking, Spence spending time with Henry and Jack to give me and Hotch a break, and us ladies drinking some _very_ well constructed Italian cocktails."

She ran a hand through Elena's hair, biting down on her lip. "It sounds like paradise, but I think I'll pass."

"Come on, Em, live a little! It's just the team, it's going to be completely casual – Hotch is going to be in _jeans_ for a change. You're really going to pass that up."

She chewed on her lip. "And the kids are allowed?"

"Yes, but that won't put a damper on our fun, I promise."

"What time?"

JJ couldn't hold back her squeal of excitement. "Hotch said about 3:30."

"Then I'll be there."

"See you then!" JJ chirped before hanging up.

* * *

Emily sighed, setting her phone down and looking at Elena. "Sweetie, you know how mommy has her team, and they're like a family to mommy?"

She looked up from her movie, nodding. "You 'tect them like you 'tect me, you said."

"I do… Mommy's team is getting together for dinner tonight, and they want me to come. Is it okay with you if I go?"

"… Can I come?"

She considered the question. She wasn't sure she was ready for the team to meet her daughter, and know the truth about her. On the other hand, she did promise the babysitter she wouldn't need to come back for a few days, and would hate to inconvenience her if she'd already made plans.

"Well, JJ's bringing her son, and he's a couple years younger than you, so you'd have someone to play with, but if you don't want to go, it's okay. You don't have to meet Mommy's team until you're re-"

"I want to!" she pleaded, pulling on her arm. "I want to, I want to, I want to! Please!"

She kissed her forehead. "Go clean up your room, we leave in a few hours."

The little girl sprung up from the couch, running to her bedroom. Meanwhile, Emily sighed, leaning back on the couch. It didn't matter if she was ready or not – it was happening.

* * *

"Mommy, I wanna wear a dress."

She shook her head, getting up and walking to her bedroom. She looked through her closet. "Which dress do you want to wear?"

She put a finger to her chin, pointing to a pink sundress. "That one!"

"The one grandma sent you?"

She nodded. "Please."

Emily grabbed the dress from the hanger, pulling it over her head. She then grabbed her sandals as she sat down on the bed and put them on her feet, strapping them on. "What do you want for your hair?"

She once again dramatically put her finger to her chin, seemingly thinking. "Piggy tails!"

She grabbed a few hair ties and her brush. "Are you a _pig_?"

She gasped. "Nuh uh!"

Emily smiled, sitting on the bed behind her, brushing her hair and putting it up. "Like that?"

Elena turned her head, looking at the mirror. "Perfect!"

* * *

She watched the clock carefully, sighing. It wasn't that she was dreading the team meeting her daughter, because she knew they'd all be in love with her. Instead, she was dreading the team finally knowing her biggest secret, and no longer having anything in her personal life as personal. She played with the car keys in her hand, unconsciously picking at her nails.

Elena groaned. "Mommy, you're doing it _again_."

She looked down at her hand, smiling slightly. "Sorry, pumpkin. Mommy's just nervous."

"…Why?"

"Well," she started, pulling the little girl into her lap, "Mommy's team doesn't know a lot about Mommy, and Mommy likes it that way. I like to keep you my little secret, but I guess I can't do that forever. And they're about to find out about you – trust me, they're going to love you almost as much as I do."

"Do they know you don't like brussel sprouts?" she asked.

Emily smiled, laughing softly. "No, they don't."

"Then you still have secrets."

"How did you get so smart?" she asked her, kissing her forehead.

"You… and school."

When it was time to leave, Emily picked up her purse, putting it over her shoulder, and stuffed her cell phone into her pocket. "Ready to go?"

She nodded, running up and taking her mother's hand, squeezing it. "Ready!"

She picked her up, walking out and locking the door. She walked down to her car, unlocking it and buckling her in. She got in herself and started the car, exhaling.

"Are you okay, Mommy?" Elena asked, looking up at the mirror.

"Super," she said, buckling herself in and driving.

* * *

As she pulled up to Rossi's, she took note that everyone else was already there: Reid's beat up Volvo, JJ's minivan, Garcia's convertible Esther, Morgan's motorcycle, and Hotch's car. She unbuckled herself and glanced in the backseat. "Are you ready, sweetie?"

She nodded. "We can do it, Mommy!"

She laughed softly, getting out and opening her door, unbuckling her and resting her against her hip. "You know Mommy loves you, right?"

The little girl held out her arms. "THIS much!"

She kissed her forehead, closing the doors and locking them.

She walked around to the backyard, and saw that everyone was otherwise distracted. She took a deep breath, walking over to JJ, who was in the middle of a conversation with Garcia.

"Hey, you made it!" JJ announced, wrapping an arm around her.

"I did, and I'm sorry I'm late." She smiled slightly and could feel her heart beating. Elena, who was naturally shy, buried her head in her mother's shoulder.

Garcia gasped. "Em, you didn't tell JJ you were babysitting. You could've told her you were busy, we would've understood."

By now, the entire team had turned their attention to Emily, who could feel her nerves in every inch of her body.

"I- I'm not babysitting."

"Who's the little one?" Rossi asked.

She leaned her head over, kissing Elena's forehead. "It's okay, pumpkin," she whispered, "no need to be nervous." She then turned to face her team. "Everyone? This is Elena… my daughter."

* * *

Garcia was the first to react, gasping when the little girl turned to face everyone, head still rested on her mother's shoulder. "She is just the cutest little thing, Em! She looks just like you. Hi, cupcake. I'm Penelope."

Elena looked up to her mother, as if to ask permission. She smiled. "It's okay, go ahead."

Elena held up her hand, waving to her. Emily set her down and her daughter clung to her hand for dear life.

"Do you want to meet Mommy's team?"

She nodded, not showing any signs of letting go of her hand anytime soon.

She pointed to JJ. "This is Jennifer, you can call her JJ, everyone else does."

JJ smirked, squatting down in front of her. "It is _very_ nice to meet you, Elena. How old are you?"

She let go of her mother's hand, holding up six fingers.

"Six? _Wow_. You know, I have a little boy named Henry. He's _four_ and I'm sure he'd love to play with you." She pointed over to Henry, who was currently playing a game of hide-and-seek with his godfather.

Elena contemplated it, but shook her head, squeezing her mother's hand again.

She then took a few steps, standing in front of Hotch and Rossi.

Emily smiled, squeezing her hand. "This is Aaron, and this is Dave. Aaron has a son too who's playing with Henry, and we're at Dave's house right now."

"Hi," she whispered, still looking at the ground. "Thank you for 'viting us."

Dave laughed softly. "No problem. A child of Emily Prentiss _shy_? Now I've seen everything."

Elena held her arms up to her mother, and she quickly picked her up, kissing her forehead. "It's okay."

Hotch smiled. "A daughter, Prentiss? You always were one for secrets."

She nodded. "Cat's out of the bag now, I guess. It was a great one for six years."

"Is this why you turned down the offer at Interpol?"

"She has a life here, and friends. I couldn't find it in me to transplant her and make her start over. I know I h-a-t-e-d my mother when she did that."

Hotch smirked. "You're still in the spelling out words years?"

"That time's almost up, unfortunately, so I need to take it while I can."

* * *

After that introduction, she turned to Elena. "Are you sure you want to finish this?"

She nodded against her shoulder.

"Can you be a big girl and walk?"

She sighed, nodding again as her mother set her down. She quickly took her hand, squeezing it.

Emily walked over to the grass, where Spencer and Derek were playing with the kids.

"Well, well," Derek started, facing her, "who do we have here?"

The little girl hid behind her mother's legs, peeking around.

Emily smiled. "This shy little ladybug is Elena. Sweetie, this is Derek, can you say hi?"

She poked her head around, looking at him. She then looked up at her mother, shaking her head.

"Don't worry, little one, I didn't want to say hi to him either at first, but he's pretty okay. He's even saved your Mommy on the job a few times."

Emily laughed. "Elena, this is Spencer. He also works with Mommy. Can you at least say hi to him?"

The little girl blushed, smiling slightly. "Hi."

Derek looked at him. "Well, Pretty Boy. It looks like you've got someone crushing on you."

He shook his head, sitting beside Derek. "You can ignore him, I do too." He held out his hand. "Can I get a high five?"

She thought about it, and quickly high-fived him. He then reached behind her ear, taking out a coin. "Did you leave that there?"

She gasped. "Mommy, look!"

"I saw – I guess I need to do a better job at bath time!"

She shook her head. "It was MAGIC."

Emily kissed her daughter's forehead. "Honey, do you want to play hide-and-seek with the boys? I bet you could beat them _all_."

She thought about it, and nodded.

"Do you guys mind?"

Spencer shook his head. "The more the merrier." He then turned to Derek. "It's _your_ turn to count, good luck."

Derek rolled his eyes, covering them. Emily watched as Elena joined in the game and walked up to the porch, grabbing a water bottle from one of the coolers.

* * *

"So, Em, who's the lucky, tied-down man?" Garcia asked, sipping her drink.

She smiled slightly, opening her water bottle. "He doesn't exist. It's just me and the little cuddle bug for the past six years."

JJ and Garcia shared a look. "Was he ever in the picture?"

She shook her head, taking a sip of her water. "We were dating, and when I found out I was pregnant, he wanted nothing to do with either of us. Rather than dealing with him and trying to get him to man up, I decided it would be better if it was just the two of us."

Garcia gasped. "Em, give me this guy's name and I will find him and I will _make_ him be a father to the cutest little girl on the face of this planet."

"As much as I appreciate the thought, I'm fine, really. I don't need financial support from him, and I don't want to need anything from him. It hurt at first, but… I don't want to force him to do something he really doesn't want to do and end up hurting her in the process. I've done well by us since I was pregnant, and I don't want him coming into the picture and messing it up."

JJ laughed softly. "I can only _imagine_ you pregnant. Though I don't think you could be any worse than I was."

Emily shook her head. "You'd be surprised. I weighed 115 before, and ended up at 190 by the end. I was _huge_. Thank god she was early or I couldn't imagine the hell I'd go through."

Garcia smiled. "So, how is she?"

"She's the _best_. She's smart, she's shy, and she loves cuddling, shopping, and playing dress-up."

"Oh, she's going to love it so much _more_ now. You thought I was bad shopping for Henry? I have six years to make up for. This is going to be so much fun."

"Garcia-" she warned.

"You are _not_ getting me to stop. Not happening."

JJ gave her a look. "She won't, no matter how many times you beg."

* * *

Emily sighed, looking out to the yard. She saw all of the boys, currently trying to find her.

"She's really good at hide-and-seek, isn't she?" JJ asked. "Usually Henry's the champ."

She smiled. "He's going to have to step aside. She always wins."

They finally found her and she ran over, tagging Jack. "You're it!"

"And she's a little game-changer. I already _love _her!" Garcia squealed.

"My little firecracker."

"She seems to be really comfortable playing with them," JJ noted. "Definitely not the same shy girl I met 20 minutes ago."

She smiled to herself, nodding. She thought to herself that she should've done this a lot sooner, and didn't need to hide anything from her team, especially anything as big as this.

* * *

When it was time for them to leave, Elena protested. "But Mommy, I wanna stay! I wanna play!"

She picked her up. "Well, it's time for little ladybugs to get to bed. Henry's Mommy is taking him home too."

She pouted. "But Mommy!"

"I promise, next time Henry's Mommy has the time, you two can have a play date. For now, you little monsters need to go home and get some sleep."

She looked over at JJ. "Really?"

JJ smiled, picking up an exhausted Henry. "Really. He'd _love_ to play with you again, wouldn't you, buddy?"

Henry nodded against his mother's shoulder, yawning.

She sighed, turning around to face Spencer and Derek, waving. "Bye! Nice to meet you! Thanks for playing!"

Derek laughed softly. "Nice to meet you too, Elena."

"See you again really soon," Spencer said, waving back to her.

Elena refused to leave until she said her goodbyes to everybody. Emily got to Garcia and before she could ask, Emily sighed. "She's a Girls Medium, and her favorite colors are pink and purple."

"And blue," Elena added.

"Expect some presents real soon, adorable mini Prentiss. It was very nice to meet you."

Elena nodded, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck and yawning.

"Oh she's going to sleep _great_ tonight," Hotch commented.

"Thank _God_," Emily said, saying her own goodbyes and walking out to her car.

After she put her to bed that night, she went to her own room, sighing. She'd put off telling the team about her daughter for so long because she wanted to protect her private life, but after seeing how well the team interacted with her today, she was somewhat kicking herself for not getting it done sooner. The team loved her, and she loved spending time with the team, and it was the best reaction she could possibly get from them.

* * *

**Author's Note:** A lot of people have been asking me about turning this in the series, and when that isn't quite what I'm doing, I will be writing one-shots based on it when the inspiration comes to me. Enjoy!


	2. Parentage

**Author's Note:** I had a _lot_ of people asking about expanding Little Secret into a series/more stories. While a series may not happen, I'm definitely going to be writing one-shots whenever inspiration strikes. Enjoy!

* * *

JJ sat on the couch opposite Emily. Elena and Henry were fast asleep in her room, which left the two of them alone to talk. She crossed her arms, looking over at Emily.

"Who knew a six year old and a four year old could wipe you out so much?"

Emily laughed softly. "Tell me about it. She's usually her own firecracker, but apparently if you add Henry into the mix? She all but multiplies into several Elenas."

JJ smirked. "At least we finally got them together for a play date. I can't say how many times Henry asked me for it."

"Oh, I got it from Elena too. Trust me, you weren't alone. 'Mommy, can I see Henry?' 'Momma, you know who I miss? Henry.' 'Mommy, Henry should come over.' 'Mommy, did JJ say if Henry could come and play?'. I don't think I could take another one." Emily poured herself a glass of wine, holding one out to JJ. "I can't remember the last time I actually got some alone time with another adult that didn't involve talking about an unsub or something involving a case."

"What, not even a date?"

"You think I can leave the house for _anything _without getting the third degree from my little ladybug? Besides, with what time could I date? If I'm not on a case, I'm playing dress-up or board games or watching Disney movies."

JJ rolled her eyes, sipping her wine. "I need to get you a date before you come into work humming Hakuna Matata again."

Emily gasped. "I didn't."

"Last Wednesday."

* * *

After several more stories and laughs, JJ shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "Hey, Em, can I ask you something?"

Emily shrugged. "Go for it."

She cleared her throat. "I know it's none of my business, but… is Matthew Benton her father? If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. Like I said, it's none of my business. I just know he meant a lot to you, he was an old friend, and you knew him back then."

Emily froze, sighing and setting down her wine glass, all of it coming back to her. "Yeah. I was helping him get clean, and after I did, one thing led to another. We weren't safe, and by the time I found out I was pregnant with Elena, he'd relapsed. I didn't want her to have to go through that, because no child deserves to see their parent in that state."

"So, what did you do?"

She sighed again. "What any concerned parent would do. I told him that he had to make a choice. It was either continue taking the drugs, or be involved with his daughter." She shrugged slightly. "Unfortunately, the meth won, and I rarely heard from him until I heard from John that he'd died."

JJ moved closer. "I'm sorry… was he ever involved?"

"He tried. He actually really tried in the beginning. So hard. He'd stop by with presents and gifts for her, and spend time with her after she was born. He stayed clean most of my pregnancy, and then until she was around… eight months? Eventually, his cravings got too strong and I had to keep her away from him." She closed her eyes, shaking her head.

"I'm so sorry, Em."

She shook her head again, exhaling. "She actually has a piece of him with her every day. My mother wanted me to give her the middle name 'Bea', and I told her that was happening over my dead body. I wanted Matthew to feel included, even if he wasn't actually around. Her middle name is actually 'Benton'. She's never asked me about it, and she seems to like it, because it's not 'dumb and girly' like everyone else's. Her words, not mine."

JJ laughed softly. "Oh, she's a feisty one."

Emily smiled slightly, nodding. "He actually left her a few things when he died, and I plan to give them to her one day. My mother always talks about him with disgust and hatred, but I don't want her to see her father that way. He may no longer be here, but he's still her father, and I want her to have her own impression. There's letters he'd written to her, pictures of them two of them together, some toys, and details for a college fund he'd started with his parents' money. It's just… I'm not sure she's ready for it _now_."

"I'm sure the time will come," JJ said, patting her arm. "It's definitely a lot for her to take, and when you're ready for her to get it, she'll be ready to understand." She paused, something clicking in her head. "The security blanket Elena has in all of her pictures?"

She smirked. "That's from Matthew. The first gift he ever gave her, though she doesn't know it. It's actually embroidered with her initials and everything. She loves it more than anything."

* * *

"What about his parents? Have they-"

She shook her head. "Matthew's parents never liked me to begin with, dating back to when Matthew and I were teenagers. They found out I was pregnant and immediately started passing judgment on me. They wanted to do a paternity test, to prove that she was even his. It doesn't matter to them that she's the last living piece of their son. They'll never accept her because she's also my daughter."

"Well, that's definitely a dick move on their part." JJ took another sip of her wine. "Definitely their loss."

Emily looked at her. "You really think so?"

"_Definitely_. Not to mention that she is, by far, the coolest six year old girl on the planet."

Emily smirked. "She's definitely a character."

"And if they want to be a pair of close-minded assholes and not get to know their granddaughter? They're even worse than I thought." She reached over, rubbing Emily's arm. "You did great with her, you know. She's happy, she's healthy, well-mannered, respectful, cheerful… she's sort of perfect, Em."

Emily peeked into the bedroom from the couch and saw her fast asleep, security blanket under her arm. "They don't know what they're missing."

JJ shook her head. "Definitely not." She reached over, wrapping her arms around Emily and pulling her into a hug and patting her back. "You win, they suck, end of story."

Emily smiled, shaking her head. "Do you want to stay on the couch tonight, head home with the little guy in the morning?"

"Sounds great. Should I move him, or-"

She shook her head. "They look comfortable, I don't see a reason to separate them."

"You do realize if we tell Garcia about this, we need to provide photographic evidence?"

Emily groaned, reaching over for her phone. "If they wake up, they're being shipped to her house for the rest of the weekend with a bag of candy and container of sugar. Each."


End file.
